Bhubaneswar: Additional Sessions Judge court here Thursday sentenced ten persons to undergo life imprisonment after holding them guilty in the murder of a youth at Kalinga Vihar Square under Khandagiri police station limits April 1, 2012.
The court directed the convicts to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 each failing which they will have to undergo a jail term of six months additionally.
The convicts were identified as Ashish Kumar Behera, Sailendra Samantray, Sunil Kumar Samantray, Ghanashyam Baut, Pravat Ranjan Behera, Prakash Chandra Behera, Trilochan Behera, Chhabindra Behera, Bishnu Prasad Behera and Ashok Baut.
Victim Sandeep Nanda alias Bapi was a resident of Nanda Sahi while the convicts belong to Behera Sahi of Ghatikia. According to sources, Nanda had a spat with key accused Ashok Baut at a beetle shop at Kalinga Vihar Square.
Subsequently, Baut informed his accomplices who reached the spot with iron rods, bamboo sticks and sharp weapons. They chased Nanda who tried to flee the spot on his bicycle but unfortunately the cycle chain slipped off the chainring midway.
Later, the miscreants seized the opportunity to attack him with iron rods, bamboo sticks and other weapons near Ghatikia. They also ran a motorcycle over Nanda who was already bleeding at the time. The autopsy report also corroborated the incident. Nanda was rushed to a clinic at Acharya Vihar where the doctors declared him brought dead.
Nanda’s family and Baut had some hostilities reportedly over celebration of Dola Melana during Holi festivities days before the incident.
Police later arrested ten persons in this connection. All the ten were convicted Thursday by Additional Sessions Judge Satya Ranjan Pradhan.
The court heard the statements of 18 witnesses including investigating officer Dayanidhi Nayak, IIC of Laxmisagar police station and went through several documents including seizure report of weapons used in the crime. The case was conducted by public prosecutors SK Barik and Sudhanshu Sekhar Panda.